What Is It Like?
by YaoiD
Summary: Kakashi asks Iruka seven questions to help him understand.
1. Prologue

Kakashi asks Iruka several questions to help him understand.

**What is it like?**

**-Prologue-**

"Iruka-sensei," Kakashi greeted, nearly giving the academy teacher a heart attack as he popped before him, upside down from a tree.

"Hatake-san! I would appreciate it if you would refrain from doing that again!" Iruka reprimanded after recovering slightly, his heart still pounding as he forced himself to relax his grip around the kunai in his fist.

"Good reflexes," Kakashi smiled, gesturing towards the kunai lodged firmly in the bark behind Kakashi's head. Iruka sighed in exasperation, thanking Kami-sama that none of his students were ever dumb enough to attempt what the jounin just did.

"What do you want?" Iruka asked, still prickly from being startled by the odd man before him.

"I would like to ask you for some help, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi said. Iruka waited for the man to continue, not knowing whether he shouldn't start planning an escape. "I hear that you are the best teacher at the academy, so I'd like to enlist your services to teach me a few things that I've been curious about."

"You?" Iruka asked disbelievingly, "But I'm a chuunin…"

"That is irrelevant," Kakashi said dismissively.

"Can't you just Sharingan someone?" Iruka asked reproachfully. It's not that he didn't want to help the jounin with whatever it was he had in mind. It's just that he was afraid for his life. The man didn't seem to have much of a grasp on other people's limits…or just sanity. Skill and power he had in abundance, but when it came down to being a normal human being, he seemed lacking – something that Iruka actually found attractive. But from far. Very, very far.

Kakashi's soft chuckle sent a shiver down the chuunin's spine, and he didn't know if it was from arousal or straight out fear. The man was attractive…in that can't-see-his-face kind of way, but if these 'things' that he needed help with was something that even somebody like Kakashi couldn't handle, Iruka highly doubted that he'd be able to.

"I've tried the Sharingan. It doesn't work," Kakashi said. Iruka sighed and considered whether he shouldn't just run away screaming. Then he remembered that he was dealing with Kakashi. Running would just be incredibly stupid and entirely pointless.

"Are you afraid of me?" Kakashi asked, noticing the nervous tension in the chuunin's body.

"No. I'm afraid of what you are capable of asking, and what I am incapable of doing," Iruka answered, hugging his arms around himself protectively as he glared reproachfully at the jounin still hanging upside down from the tree. The unmasked eye curved softly, a sign that the man was genuinely smiling.

"Don't worry, Iruka-kun. It's nothing dangerous," he said cheerfully.

"What's dangerous for me is probably just a one-against-fifty fight to you," muttered Iruka.

"Fighting one against fifty is dangerous for me too," Kakashi said, an amused tone registering in his voice.

"Now I know you're lying," Iruka grimaced before he sighed at the gentle laughter coming from the older, and also upside down man, "Alright, what is it?"

"Well, it recently occurred to me that there are a few things hindering me from being a fully capable shinobi, especially in terms of stealth, disguise and behavior," said Kakashi, finally dropping from the tree and landing gracefully on his feet before Iruka, "I am incapable of efficiently judging situations and possible reactions from an enemy because I have a very low understanding of human nature," he continued, walking towards the apartment district where Iruka lived as the teacher silently followed.

"You want me to teach you about human nature?" Iruka asked after the jounin paused expectantly.

"Pretty much," said Kakashi, "See? It's not dangerous."

"How would you propose I go about doing this? I teach ten year olds how to throw kunai and disguise themselves as wooden fences and rocks…not the philosophy behind human behaviorism," Iruka said doubtfully.

"You've had a…relatively normal life," Kakashi said carefully, "And you are good with people. You've experienced the sorts of things that make people what they are, and you understand what it is that turn people into who they become…I…also wish to understand…," he said, uncertain about how to word it.

"Even so, I have no idea how I'm supposed to teach this to you. I only understand any of it because of experience," Iruka said.

"I'm aware of this, and that is why I've come up with a system that should be effective in teaching me the gist of human behavior in a way that would be suitable for you," said Kakashi, sounding like he was shrugging, which he then did.

"Pray tell," Iruka said, mentally plotting a rout for escape in case any of the jounin's plans involved dissection.

"I'm going to ask you a series of questions, and I'd appreciate it if you could answer them to the best of your knowledge, experience and abilities. You can set up exercises, homework, or even field trips. It shouldn't be too different from what you do at the academy," Kakashi said, his head tilted very slightly to one side, as if he were silently saying 'would you please?'

Iruka suspected that the man knew exactly the effect that little head tilt would have on a teacher who dealt with small children daily. And he claims to not understand human nature, indeed!


	2. Friendship

**What Is It Like?**

**-1. What is it like to have a friend?-**

"Alright, Hatake, fine. What are your questions?" Iruka sighed in defeat, not even bothering to be surprised as he followed Kakashi straight to his own doorstep.

"What is it like to have a friend?" Kakashi asked.

Iruka stared at the man, who blinked at him innocently.

"Kakashi-san, I am almost certain that despite your incredibly unusual nature, you have friends," Iruka said straight forwardly.

"I have my teammates, and I'm friendly with a few jounin, like Asuma and Guy, but they are all work related friendships. I am unfamiliar with the type of friendship that is experienced by civilians. Understanding it would help me blend in with them should I ever need to do so in a mission," Kakashi explained.

"I see…well…friendship is…," Iruka stammered, unsure how to begin.

"You don't have to answer now. You've got all evening, and all of tomorrow to think up a lesson for me," Kakashi said.

"Thanks…I think," Iruka said, unlocking his door and disabling the traps.

"I am aware that asking you to do this for me is outside of and in addition to your usual responsibilities, so as payment, I will help you with your housework, marking papers or doing any small, tiresome jobs that you may have lying around," Kakashi said, following the chuunin into his home, ignoring the disbelieving glare he was receiving, "Nice place," He added, acknowledging the humble but comfortable living space. It didn't contain many personal items, as is usual for a shinobi, but what furniture and decorations that existed were comfortable and subtle.

"Kakashi-san, I'm not going to expect you to do my housework while I teach you about the birds and the bees," Iruka said, staring at the jounin with his crazy ideas.

"The birds and the what?" Kakashi asked, looking bemused as he neatly placed his shoes besides Iruka's before heading towards the kitchen and promptly taking out pots and cutlery as if this was entirely not the first time he'd been inside Iruka's kitchen.

"Never mind. How do you know where all of my stuff is?" Iruka asked, starting to feel a little bubble of irritation rise up as Kakashi even pulled out the apron that had been tucked under the sink, behind the bottle of washing liquid, under a big pot.

"People tend to arrange their kitchens in a similar manner," Kakashi said, pulling out ingredients from Iruka's refrigerator.

"What am I trying to teach you again?" Iruka asked, crossing his arms as he watched the jounin bustle about his kitchen like a regular occupant.

"Also I've been watching you for a while," Kakashi said hastily, "To make sure that you would be capable of teaching me what I want to know," he added even more hastily before he silenced the room with the satisfying fizzle of stir fry, grinning happily as he chopped up vegetables while Iruka grumbled himself out of the kitchen to start working on the two lessons for the next day, one more reluctantly than the other.

***

"Ne, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi asked, tapping on the teacher's shoulder. Iruka jerked awake with a start, a piece of paper momentarily stuck to the side of his face before it fell off and drifted to the ground, no doubt sniggering at the awkward silence it just created.

"Oh…You're still here," Iruka muttered, rubbing his eyes dazedly.

"You're supposed to let me do the marking while you worked on our lessons," said Kakashi disapprovingly, looking at the pile of marked homework assignments that Iruka had been sleeping on.

"I've already finished working on the lessons for tomorrow," Iruka said with a sigh as he tidied up the workspace and picked up the clingy paper off the floor with a glower.

"Then you should have gone to bed. I was going to mark these papers straight after doing the dishes, I told you that," said Kakashi, helping the teacher pick up the papers and stationary that had dropped off the tiny desk.

"Yeah well, I wasn't sleepy," said Iruka, stifling a huge yawn, "But apparently I am now," he muttered, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"Go to bed, Iruka-sensei," Kakashi grinned, "You've got a long day ahead of you tomorrow."

"Thanks to you," Iruka mumbled, before he sighed in defeat, "Thank you for dinner, Kakashi-san, it was surprisingly pleasant."

"Have some faith in my skills, would you?" Kakashi chuckled, "And call me Kakashi, really. You're my teacher now," he grinned.

"You say that, but you're still my senior in rank," Iruka said, packing away his papers.

"I thought you didn't care about that sort of thing?" Kakashi asked, frowning slightly.

"I don't. Evidently, however, you do," Iruka said with a light scowl.

"If you're talking about that time at the chuunin exams, you ought to know that I was doing what I thought best for team seven," Kakashi said softly.

"And now we know how that turned out," Iruka said darkly before he could stop himself. He gasped when he realized what he'd just accused Kakashi of, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean…It's just that I…," Iruka trailed off lamely.

"I see," Kakashi said softly, "That's how you feel…I can understand why you've been so reluctant to teach me now…," he said, a frown crossing his face, "I'm sorry to intrude," he mumbled, heading for the door.

"No, don't go," Iruka said, grabbing onto Kakashi's shoulder. He blushed slightly and let go hastily. Kakashi turned around, a big curve in his eyes.

"Don't worry, Iruka-sensei, I'll find a different teacher," he said cheerfully, before disappearing with a poof.

"Dammit!" Iruka cursed as he stared at the wisps of smoke where Kakashi was standing, "Iruka, you're a jerk," he sighed, scowling deeply as he headed for bed, trying to think of a way to rectify this evening's mishap.

***

Iruka sighed softly once again as he scowled at the papers in front of him as the sound of pencils scraping filled the room. He glanced at the clock on the wall.

"Five minutes left," he told his class. There were a few gasps as the sound of pencil scratching became slightly more frantic.

Iruka scowled down at the lesson plan on his desk.

Civilian Friendship: Co-operation, respect, and a willingness to help the other when in need, and forgive the other when wronged. Usually participate in recreational activities together. Good friends display behavior similar to that of a teammate or partner, supporting each other through hardships and difficulties…

Great teacher he turned out to be. Iruka glared some more at the paper, as though it were personally responsible for how he felt, before making up his mind. Kakashi had honestly come to him for help, and all he did was dismiss the older man, treated him with hostility, before finally insulting him and accusing him of Sasuke's disappearance. He's going to have to fix this if he's ever to live with himself.

"Time's up, pencils down," Iruka said. There were some sighs of relief, as well as some groans of frustration from the ones who hadn't finished as the clattering of stationary filled the room. There was a dim mumbling that gradually got louder as the students discussed answers with each other after they handed in the paper and gathered their belongings.

"Is that everyone? Alright. Dismissed," Iruka said, putting the papers away as the children scurried out the classroom.

***

"Iruka-sensei, what are you doing here?" Kakashi asked, sounding surprised, and also a little wary as he packed away his training things.

"I've come to apologize, Kakashi-san," Iruka said, bowing his head, "I didn't mean what I said. I was just tired and annoyed, and I realize now that I took it out on you, and it wasn't fair for me to do so," he said. There was a moment of silence as Kakashi regarded the chuunin thoughtfully.

"Why are you apologizing? You didn't say anything wrong," he said, turning to walk away.

"Because that's what friends do," Iruka said, "They support each other's decisions. I believe you were right in your decision back during the chuunin exams. Nobody could have predicted what had happened. You were doing what was best for team seven, and I was being selfish. Friends also forgive each other if they make a mistake, and I'm hoping that you can forgive me for having said what I did," Iruka said, glad that Kakashi had at least stopped in his tracks.

"I can see why you're so highly regarded as a teacher now," Kakashi said, a small smile in his voice. He turned around, a small tilt in his head, "That was a good lesson," he smiled, his eyes curving up slightly, "So you'll be my teacher then? I couldn't find anybody else that was suitable."

"I would be honored to be your teacher, Kakashi, and also your friend," Iruka smiled.

***

A/N Iruka's always the one wearing an apron. Thought I'd give that plot device a little swaperoo.


	3. Hold Hands

**What is it like?**

**2. To hold hands**

"Supper sounds like a good idea," Iruka sighed, rubbing his temple as he graded the last test paper.

"I'm sure nobody would mind if I helped you grade the papers," Kakashi said, leaning his head on his arms as he watched Iruka scribble a "B-" on the corner of the paper.

"I don't think I could trust you to mark any of the papers for fear of every single one of my students failing," Iruka sighed, packing the papers away and smiling at Kakashi as he watched with his head in his arms, "Don't worry, it hasn't been very difficult teaching you, and you've been cooking all the meals and cleaning, so I've got plenty of time on my hands," he said.

"That's what friends do, right?" Kakashi said, standing up as Iruka does.

"Well, most friends don't cook each other's meals or do their laundry," Iruka laughed, putting on his shoes and heading out, locking the door behind him as Kakashi followed dutifully.

"Kurenai does that for Asuma all the time," Kakashi pondered aloud.

"I think Kurenai and Asuma have surpassed the stage of being just friends," Iruka said with a chuckle.

"Does that mean we have as well?" Kakashi asked casually, following closely behind his teacher. He secretly grinned at the little blush on Iruka's cheeks.

"This is different. You only do those things for me out of self-imposed obligations," said Iruka.

"It's not really an obligation when you enjoy it," said Kakashi, appreciating the darkening blush on Iruka's cheeks.

"You enjoy washing my socks?" Iruka joked awkwardly.

"I enjoy cooking for you," Kakashi answered straightforwardly. Iruka shook his head lightly.

"That's very kind of you to say so," he said.

"I also quite enjoy washing your underwear," Kakashi continued. Iruka's face flared red as he spun on his toes, about to reprimand the jounin for his inappropriateness when Kakashi laughed openly, "I'm just teasing, Iruka-sensei. Your underwear is quite safe, don't worry."

"Kakashi, you're probably the most inappropriate student I've ever had," Iruka scowled, before giving in and chuckling lightly.

They were soon greeted by the bright lanterns and cheerful colours of the shopping district.

"Lots of couples out tonight," Iruka commented as they passed yet another couple walking past, arm in arm, the girl with her head rested upon the guy's shoulder, or nestled in his arms.

Kakashi was mostly silent after they entered a small restaurant and ordered some food, along with a bottle of sake.

"I have a new question for you," Kakashi said suddenly a while later as the waiter cleared up their plates.

"Go ahead," said Iruka, his cheeks lightly flushed from the alcohol.

"What's it like to hold hands?"

"You've never held hands before?" Iruka asked, looking up with a disbelieving frown. Kakashi shrugged. "How old are you?" Iruka asked, looking disbelieving.

"I'll be twenty six next year," Kakashi answered.

"And you've never even held somebody's hand?" Iruka frowned.

"Haven't had much experience with the whole relationship business," Kakashi shrugged again.

"So you're a…a virgin?" Iruka asked, the alcohol making it difficult to suppress his curiosity.

"I've had intercourse before, but all occasions were in order to complete my mission," said Kakashi boredly.

"Oh. Good. I was afraid for a moment that you'd ask me what sex was like…," Iruka laughed a charming blush on his cheeks

"I don't see the appeal in intercourse," said Kakashi honestly, "They moan and scream and pull ridiculous faces, and I really can't figure out why," he said.

"So…that means you've never had an…uh…," Iruka paused. He wasn't THAT drunk yet…

"An orgasm? Guess not. I've heard about it. One of the missions I mentioned required me to give the target an orgasm in order to learn how she released the poison she used to murder the seven victims she was accused of," Kakashi said detachedly, as though talking about retrieving a scroll or finding a lost nin.

"And you've no interest in finding out what it's like?" Iruka asked, his curiosity getting the better of him

"Will you show me?" Kakashi asked.

"No!" Iruka replied, a little louder than he'd intended to. Kakashi looked a little hurt by the outburst.

"Fine, no need to yell. Besides, it seems almost painful," he said, "But holding hands, that looks delightful," he grinned.

"Well, I guess the only way for you to learn that is if somebody showed you I guess," said Iruka, gazing around the room as though he might find somebody with a "Professional Hand-Holder" sign around her neck sitting in one of the booths.

"Who did you have in mind?" Kakashi asked.

"I have no idea. How do you even bring up that sort of thing? 'Hello, this is Kakashi. I need you to hold hands with him, if you don't mind'," Iruka laughed pleasantly.

"Will you do it? Please don't yell again," Kakashi added quickly. Iruka's actions paused at lifting a cup of sake towards his lips as he considered it, the little alcohol buzz wrapping warmly around his mind.

"Yeah, alright why not. It's just holding hands after all," Iruka said with a little blush. He put down his sake and lifted his hands so that his palm faced Kakashi. The jounin looked at the raised palm disapprovingly.

"Not like this. I meant holding hands properly. While walking down a street, or on a beach," said Kakashi stubbornly. Iruka stared at the silver haired man for a few seconds before he heaved a sigh and stood up, dropping some money onto the table and heading out.

"Well? Come along then," he said, turning to look at Kakashi over his shoulder when the man didn't follow, a tiny slur in his voice.

Kakashi eagerly stood and followed Iruka out the door. He felt his cheeks warm up slightly when warm fingers brushed against his as they walked down the busy street. He walked a little closer to Iruka, and gently wrapped his hand around the shorter man's warm palms, noticing the lovely blush on the chuunin's face as he desperately avoided eye contact.

"Is it everything you've ever dreamed it to be?" Iruka joked, trying not to enjoy the strong warmth around his fingers too much.

"Better," Kakashi said, a light curve in his eye as the two men strolled down the busy street, hand in hand, earning them more than a few odd glances, only half of which Iruka noticed due to his partial inebriation.

"You never came across as the romantic type," Iruka said awkwardly as they walked aimlessly, the charming blush now solidly evident in his cheeks at the sensation of Kakashi's strong fingers interlaced between his own.

"I try not to come across as anything much. That's my job, after all," Kakashi said, recognizing where they were and subtly tugging Iruka in the right direction.

"You come across as quite a lot of things," Iruka said softly, following Kakashi towards a lightly sloping hill.

"Yeah? Like what?" Kakashi asked, his hands tightening around Iruka's when the chuunin slowed down a little.

"Where are we going?" he asked uncertainly.

"You'll see when we get there," Kakashi said, smiling lightly. Iruka frowned for a moment before he started walking again, following Kakashi's lead as the older man pulled gently at his hand. "Still don't trust me, Iruka?" he asked softly, sounding a little hesitant.

"It's not that. It's just that I…," Iruka paused, unable to finish his sentence.

"What do I come across as?" Kakashi asked, changing the subject, sensing Iruka's discomfort.

"Odd," Iruka answered, immediately feeling guilty when Kakashi's curious eyes dropped to the ground and his pace slowed down.

"I've been told," said the jounin, "All the more reason for me to go through with these lessons," he said.

"You're trying to be normal?" Iruka asked, sounding disapproving. Kakashi looked up, a hint of surprise in his eye.

"Well, yes. That's the whole point. I want to know what it's like to be a civilian, in the hopes that I may learn to behave more like one," he said.

"You're a jounin, all jounin are supposed to be a little eccentric," Iruka lectured.

"Even jounin don't enjoy being alone, Iruka-sensei," said Kakashi lightly, glancing up at the sky, that was beginning to dim.

"So you thought I'd be the perfect person to teach you how to be average," Iruka sighed, staring at the ground as they walked, their hands still woven together, feeling so natural that they'd already forgotten that they were doing it deliberately.

"No, I wanted you to teach me because it would give me a good opportunity to hold your hand," Kakashi said cheekily, squeezing the warm hands enveloped by his own.

"You see? You're odd," Iruka said, glaring at the ground as his face heated up further. He felt the fingers slacken around his hand and he squeezed, "Odd isn't necessarily bad, Kakashi," he grinned at the older man.

"In my experience, it is," said the jounin, stopping at a giant tree on a cliff that overlooked the whole of Konoha.

"Yeah, well, I'm the teacher, and I say it isn't," Iruka said playfully, admiring the view, careful not to let Kakashi know that he was featured prominently in Iruka's peripheral vision.

"I could argue that you're the odd one for saying that," Kakashi smiled.

"Maybe I am. Is that a bad thing?" Iruka grinned.

"Not at all," Kakashi laughed, looking into the sky, "Next question, Iruka-sensei."


End file.
